Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 531 › Conversation 531-007

Nixon, Bergsten & Haig on White House staffing and Professional transition

Monday, June 28, 1971 · 4:44 PM–4:47 PM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.; Bergsten, C. Fred; Haig, Alexander M., Jr.; White House photographerConversation531-007 on Tape 531 (tape position 00:14:57–00:17:12)StartMonday, June 28, 1971 at 4:44 PMEndMonday, June 28, 1971 at 4:47 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 531-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with C. Fred Bergsten, Alexander Haig, and Stephen Bull to discuss Bergsten’s transition out of the White House. The President expressed appreciation for Bergsten's service and encouraged him to maintain professional ties with the administration, specifically mentioning Peter G. Peterson and the Brookings Institution as he prepares to write a book. The brief meeting concluded with the President commending Bergsten’s contributions and past work.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 49% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Where will you go?
Physically.
Yeah.
Physically.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know that you were doing the book, right?
You can't do it here, that's for sure.
But now you have the time.
You've got great, great experience.
I want you to be free to come back and talk to our people and to Pete Peterson, of course.
You know that, of course.
I think you'd like that, or would you like the...
Yeah, that's good.
That's just for the key.
Later on, we'll appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Well, we appreciate all the extra hours.
I know that isn't your take on the worst of 30 slaves, right?
They don't murder us, but they're good at it.
They're not.
They do a great part for us.
Anyway, I appreciate your work.
Thank you, Eddie.

NARA Description

On June 28, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, C. Fred Bergsten, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:44 pm to 4:47 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 531-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 531-7

Date: June 28, 1971
Time: 4:44 pm - 4:47 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull, C. Fred Bergsten, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr.; the
White House photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.

     Bergsten's plans

            -Brookings Institute
            -Book
            -Peter G. Peterson
            -Arthur F. Burns

      Bergsten's family

      Presentation of gifts by President

      Bergsten's accomplishments
           -Henry A. Kissinger, Haig

Bergsten, et al., left at 4:47 pm.

Also recorded on June 28, 1971

  • 531-003 4:35 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Jane Dart, John D. Ehrlichman, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:35 pm to 4:39 pm.
  • 531-004 4:39 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Barbara ("Bobbie") (Greene) Kilberg, John D. Ehrlichman, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:39 pm to 4:41 pm.
  • 531-005 4:41 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Jerome M. Rosow, James D. Hodgson, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:41 pm to 4:44 pm.
  • 531-006 4:44 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 4:44 pm.
  • 531-008 4:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, T. Warren Parker, Charles W. Colson, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:47 pm to 4:49 pm.
  • 531-009 4:49 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William E. Casselman, II, White House photographer, and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:49 pm to 4:52 pm.
  • 531-010 4:52 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William E. Kriegsman, Stephen B. Bull, John C. Whitaker, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:52 pm to 4:54 pm.
  • 531-011 4:54 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald A. Harley, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:54 pm to 4:56 pm.

All 69 conversations from June 28, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 531-007, June 28, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/531-007 (accessed October 5, 2026).